Railroad jack



Feb. 10. 1925. 1.525589 7 D. NOFFSINGER RAILROAD JACK Filed Feb. 28, 1924 Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES DAVID NOFFSINGER 0F BUNDY, MONTANA.

RAILROAD JACK.

Application filed February 28, 1924. Serial No. 695,787.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID Norrsrncna, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bundy, in the county of Musselshell and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad Jacks, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved railroad jack and one object of the invention is top'rovide a jack which may be used for lifting rails so that tie plates may be placed under the rails and may also be used for permitting portions of a track to be moved transversely so that they will be prop crly aligned with other portions of the track. While these are the principal uses to which the jack will be put, it will be understood that the jack may be used for any purpose for which it is found suitable.

Another object of the invention is to provide a jack which may be formed of pivotally connected strips and which will be very strong and durable and capable of sustain ing hard usage without being broken or bent out of shape.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the jack that when in motor lifting a rail the jack may be adjusted to lift the rail and then securely but releasably hold it in the adjusted position.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the jack that a shoe which will be used when moving sections of the track into alignment may be easily and quickly put in place upon the base of the jack and removed when the jack is no longer to be used for shifting the track into alignment. a

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a view showing the jack in side elevation and in position for use in lifting a rail.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the jack.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a shoe for use in connection with the jack.

This improved jack is provided with a standard which is indicated in general by the numeral 1 and is formed from a strip of metal such as iron or steel which is bent in-- termediate its length to provide the jack with spaced sidestrips 2 having their lower ends connected with a base plate 3. A brace 4 and a handle 5 are pivotally connected with the upper end portion of the standard 1 by means of a pivot pin 6 which may be a rivet or bolt. The handle 5 extends between the side arms 2 of the stand ard and the brace 4: is provided with a pointed tie engaging foot 7 having spaced arms or bars 8 extending from it and extending upon opposite sides of the standard. The distance between the pivot pin 6 and the head or foot 7 of the brace d is greater than the distance between the pivot pin 6 and the outer free end of the handle 5 and it will therefore be seen that this brace may be swung over the standard from an operative position in front of the standard to an inoperative position in back of the standard. The rail engaging bar 9 is pivotally mounted between the lower end portions of the side bars 2 of the standard by means of a. pivot pin 10 and has its rear end portion pivotally mounted between the side arms 11 or" a yoke 12 which has its upper end portion straddling the lever handle 5. The upper end portion of this yoke is pro vided with an opening for receiving a pivot pin 13 and the handle is provided with a plurality of openings 1a which are positioned in spaced relation to each other longitudinally of the handle so that the pin 13 may be passed through a selected one of the openings 14 to control the amount of leverage exerted when the handle is moved. In order to permit the jack to be securely but releasably held in an adjusted position with the rail elevated, there has been provided an elongated latch 15 which has itslower end portion pivotally connected with the rear end portion 0f the bar 9. The upper free end portion of this latch 15 is adapted to engage the rack teeth 16 provided upon the standard. This latch will of its own weight remain in operative engagement with the rack teeth so that when the handle is swung downwardly to move the rear end portion of the bar 9 downwardly and the forward end portion upwardly to lift the rail the latch may be moved from one tooth to another and securely hold the bar 9 against return movement. An arm 17 ex tends rearwardly from the latch 15 between the side arms ll of the yoke 12 so that when it is desired to lower a rail which has been lifted a foot may be placed upon the arms 17 and the latch swung out of engagement with the rack teeth. Pressure upon the lever handle 5 can then be relieved and the bar 9 will be permitted to return to its normal position and the rail moved down wardly to rest upon a tie plate placed beneath the rail.

When this device is in use the jack will be placed upon a tie with the base plate 3 resting upon the tie between the rail and one end of the tie. The brace 4- will extend over the rail and will engage the tie between the rails. The forward end portion of the bar 9 will engage the rail beneath the head 01": the rail and it will be readily seen that when downward pressure is applied to the free end portion of the lever handle 5 the forward end portion of the bar 9 will be moved upwardly to en age the head of the rail and force the rail upwardly. The latch will prevent return movement of the bar 9 and the rail will therefore be suspended in an elevated posi tion so that a tie plate may be put in place beneath the rail. After the tie plate has been put in place pressure will be again applied to the free end portion of the lever handle to move the bar and release the latch from tight binding engagement with the teeth of the standard so that the latch may be moved to an inoperative position by pressing downwardly upon the arm 17. Pressure upon the handle will then be relieved and the handle may move upwardly and the bar 9 swing to permit the rail to move downwardly and rest upon the tie plate. The pressure of the foot upon the arm 17 will assist in preventing the rail from moving downwardly too quickly.

When it is desired to use this jack to move a section of a track into alignment with the restof the track the shoe, which is indicated in general by the numeral 18, will be made use of. This shoe is provided with a body portion in the form of a plate 19 which will fit beneath the base plate 3 of the jack. Side walls 20 extend upwardly from the plate 18 and are provided with inwardly extending flanges 21 for extending above the upper face of the base plate. The base plate tapers rearwardly and the inner faces of the walls 20 of this shoe converge rearwardly so that this shoe may he slid forwardly onto the base plate 3 and held tightly in engagement with the base plate by a wedging action. Along its forward edge the shoe is provided with a depending tie engaging cleat 22 which is sharpened so that it may bite into the upper face of a tie and prevent the shoe from moving relative to the tie. In order to move a section of a track transversely into alignment with. other portions of the track the spikes securing the rails to one of the ties will be removed and the ballast forming the road bed will be cleared away from the ends of the other ties so that these ties may move across the road bed. The jack will then be put in place with the forward end portion of the bar 9 extending beneath the head of the rail but the brace 4 will be swung rearwardly to its in operative position that is, swung up over handle 5. The handle is then moved downward, and inasmuch as the brace 4 is not now in operation the downward pressure on the handle 5 tends not only to lift the rail slightly but to swing the standard formed by the strips 2 forward, the sharp edge- 22 of the shoe 18 acting as the fulcrum for the standard so that the rail will not only be lifted but it will be shifted. The track with its attached ties will be lifted off the bed and at the same time moved transversely about one-half inch at one setting. If more than this movement is necessary for the track the jack is reset in upright position and again the handle 5 is depressed and the operation repeated. One man with this jack can throw track that would require ten men to do the same work. The object of the. shoe 18 is to grip the tie, preventing the lower end 0 the standard of the jack from moving and at the same time form a "fulcruin for the standard of the jack. If ballast is loosened with a pick, the jack can be set in position and the shifting made in a very short time. Only about ten feet f track can be shifted at a time.

What is claimed is 1. A jack comprising a base, a standard, a rail engaging bar pivotally connected with the lower portion of the standard, a handle and a brace pivotally connected with the upper end portion of the standard, the brace being adapted to be swung from an operative position in front of the standard to an inoperative position to the rear of the stand ard, and a yoke pivotally connected with the handle and with the rear end portion of the rail engaging bar.

2. A jack comprising a. base, a standard carried by the base and having spaced side bars, a handle having its forward end positioned between the side bars of the standard, a brace having a tie engaging head and arms extending from the head and terminating upon opposite sides of the standard, a pivot member passing through the brace arms and through the arms of the standard and forward end portion of the handle to pivotally connect the handle and brace with the upper end portion of the standard. a rail engaging bar extending between the lower end portions of the side bars of the standard and pivotally mounted between the side bars of the standard, a yoke straddling the handle and pivotally connected therewith and having arms extending downwardly from the handle and having their lower ends extending upon opposite sides of the rear end portion of the rail engaging bar and pivotally connected therewith, a latch pivotally connected with the rail engaging bar adjacent its rear end and extending upwardly therefrom and having its free end adapted to engage rack teeth provided upon the standard, and an arm extending from the latch between the arms of the yoke for permitting movement of the latch to an inoperative position.

3. A jack comprising a base plate, a standard carried by the base plate, rail engaging means carried by the standard, means for moving the rail engaging means to apply pressure to the rail, and a shoe releasably connected with the base plate and adapted to have biting engagement with a tie to prevent movement of the base I plate When pressure is applied to the rail.

4. A jack comprising a base plate tapering rearwardly, a. standard carried by the base plate, rail engaging means carried by the standard, means for imparting move ment to the rail engaging means, and a shoe adapted to be releasably engaged with the base plate and comprising a body portion adapted to fit beneath the base plate and having its forward end portion provided with a depending sharp-edged tie engaging cleat, walls extending upwardly from the ends of the body portion and having their inner surfaces converging rearwardly to conform to the contour of the converging ends of the base plate and causing the shoe to be tightly wedged upon the base plate when moved forwardly thereon, and flanges carried by the walls for engaging the upper face of the base plate.

5. A jack comprising a standard, a shoe adapted to support the standard and having a transversely extending, sharp edge adapted to bite into a tie and to form a fulcrum for the standard, a lever pivoted upon the standard and adapted to engage beneath a rail, a handle pivoted to the upper end of the standard, and a link pivotally connected to the handle and to said lever whereby upon a depression of the handle the railengaging end of the lever will be raised and at the same time the standard will be tilted upon its fulcrum to thereby shift the rail.

6. A jack comprising a standard, a lever pivoted upon the standard adjacent its lower end and engageable beneath the head of a rail, a handle pivoted to the upper end of the standard, a link connecting said handle to the lever at its end opposite from its rail-engaging end, a brace adapted to engage the tie and pivotally connected to the upper end of the standard whereby it may be turned out of its bracing position into an inoperative position, and a member detachably engaging the lower end of the standard and having a transversely extend ing sharpened portion adapted to bite into a tie and constituting a fulcrum for the standard.

7. A. jack comprising a standard, a base, a shoe detachable from the base and adapted to engage a rail tie, this shoe having a transversely extending sharp edge adapted to bite into the tie and constitute a fulcrum, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends adjacent the lower end of the standard, a handle pivoted to the upper end of the standard, a link connecting the handle and one end of the lever, and a pawl operatively engaging between the standard and the lever for holding the lever in a position to which it may be set by the handle.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

DAVID NOFFSINGER. 

